A group of friends are feeling “dizzy with excitement” as they prepare to drive from London to India on the trip of a lifetime.

Ram Somksundaran and Owais Amin, who live in University Close, Mill Hill, and friends Kirti Puthran, Shiv Misra and Vamsi Salla, will spend 25 days behind the wheel as they cross plains and mountain ranges.

The friends, who call themselves “nomads on wheels", hope to raise £6,000 for charities SOS Children’s Villages and Association for India’s Development.

Mr Amin, 29, said: “It’s going to be such an adventure and one of the most amazing things we have ever done.

“The preparation is madness and we know the trip is going to be quite daunting, but we are all looking forward to it.

They will drive the 10,000 miles in a blue Nissan Torana – “the chariot of dreams” – which they bought for £3,000.

In total, the friends will spend 21 days camping out and sleeping in hotels as they pass Germany, Lithuania, Russia and Kazakhstan before finally reaching Bombay.

They then plan on taking a plane back for a well-earned break.

All were born in India but moved to England at various points in the last ten years, where they met.

In the last few months, they have held charity events including a badminton tournament and a Bollywood night to raise money for their charities. So far, they have raised £1,500.

For Mr Puthran, the trip is all the more poignant after he was almost killed in a serious crash in East London three years ago.

He was on his way to a friend’s birthday with his friends when he stopped at a traffic light to cross the road, but a lorry clipped the curb and knocked him unconscious.

Despite still suffering from memory loss and a weakness on the left side of his body, he is looking forward to the challenge.

He said: “I’ve got to face my phobia, I am trying to get rid of the fear. I am still suffering from a bit of memory loss but I take each day as it comes. We are all dizzy with excitement, it’s going to be amazing.”

After their trip, the group hope to write a book documenting their adventures.